


He Snaps

by Maniac345



Category: Generator Rex
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Blackmail, Dark Crack, Gen, Murder, Not A Fix-It, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 22:16:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17312834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maniac345/pseuds/Maniac345
Summary: There’s only so much abuse Rex can take.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this one’s a bit weird and maybe OOC, depending on who you are. A bit dark, and you might not like who dies or the aftermath. But, the backspace button always exist, so.

No one was watching.

Rex bounded down the darkest streets of the city, careful not to alert people on the sidewalks towards his direction. His stealth suit was on, camouflaging him almost seamlessly into the dull grey background as he turned various corners and maneuvered his way around scattered cars. 

His breath ran cold as he entered areas that seemed to repel heat entirely, but luckily, he'd came prepared in warmer clothing beneath his suit. Fleece suited him just fine, providing protection against the icy temperatures he eventually immersed himself in.

The teen's heart pounded as he slipped past sparse pedestrians smoking at storefronts, forcing him to feel every beat of his heart throughout his agile body. The blood rushed to his ears, swathing his senses in a fresh coat of adrenaline, enhancing them even more than usual.

He wasn't supposed to be there.

At two in the morning, the boy was expected to be in bed, getting rest for the next day's training session and EVO attacks. But tonight was worth sacrificing some sleep over. Tonight was the night he would finally carry out a personal mission in secret, one that could change his fate for the better or worse entirely. It was a risky mission and he knew it, and in fact, it was only the first part of it.

But he couldn't wait any longer. 

A few moments of later, the teen exited the streets and entered a small forest just behind a dingy apartment complex, disappearing into the trees. His feet became a blur beneath him, blending into the barely illuminated grass he sped through. 

 

His best light was from his enhanced goggles and the stars, slowing him to avoid smashing into wayward branches and trees. He dodged shrubs and accidentally scratched his legs against wild thorns, but he was too caught up in the moment to care.

He was almost there.

As he ran further on, Rex checked his phone to see if anyone had texted him or found out about his disappearance. Even a missed call could potentially ruin the entire secret outing. The young EVO sighed gratefully as he saw that no one had tried to contact him, as they most likely thought he was asleep. Rather, they were probably asleep themselves. Holiday and Six had no doubt succumbed to fatigue, as well as Bobo and White Knight.

Moments later, the boy reached the center of the forest, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. He took a few minutes to get on his hands and knees to take deep breaths, then turned on the night vision installed into his goggles. The forest's details became clear, allowing Rex to stand up and continue what he'd set out to do. He made his way further into the woods, and eventually found what he'd been looking for.

His EVO.

It was at least eight feet long, and had sharp silver scales covering all seven of its legs. Seven was an unusual number, but it made sense when one saw that its head functioned doubly as the last leg. Razor sharp jaws protruded from its mouth, drooling mildly acidic slime onto the grass below. It hung in a giant net suspended from a tree, and appeared to be sleeping in its restraints. Having long been reduced to smaller-range movements, the deadly EVO had eventually given up and fell asleep.

Rex smirked. It was his best catch yet.

He recalled how it had taken him weeks to be able to capture an EVO of some significance without letting it escape. The first few were ones that hardly caused any damage at all, except for frightening passerby's, and were easily cured and returned to the streets. 

The latter few, when the teen had become courageous enough to catch larger ones, had easily escaped the rough netting and had even injured him in the process. It was seemingly impossible to find a dangerous EVO that intimidated citizens with its looks, and could back it up with violent action.

Until he'd caught the one currently sleeping peacefully in the net.

The perfect weapon.

Rex used his Smackhands to quietly unhook the net from the tree it hung from, and kept the EVO in the air as he slowly turned back the way he came. Truth be told, Rex knew he would regret his future actions to some degree- after all, that's why his heart pounded so fiercely- but he also believed it to be the right thing. What he was planning was by no means completely innocent, but then again, neither was anyone else on the entire planet. 

As soon as he reached the city streets again, he painstakingly made sure to only reveal himself to the urban setting when he was sure no pedestrians were around. At this early in the morning, it was an easy feat to achieve- the usually bustling nightlife had taken a dip when fatalities caused by EVOs strangely rose to higher levels within the past few months. 

And it was a sad reality that Rex's intentions were about to cause even more.

Rex frowned as he moved the dangerous EVO out into the empty streets with him, once again running the consequences of his actions through his mind. He'd thought about his plan a million times before, and knew it was something he would think about for the rest of his life. His mission was morally reprehensible, yes, but that didn't mean it wasn't acceptable. In his eyes, in fact, it was rather necessary. 

He was only human.

The teen finally placed the sleeping EVO onto the middle of an empty intersection, knowing full well that it was one of the busiest intersections throughout the day. The EVO he'd caught would no doubt wake up from the sounds of screaming people and car alarms and go on a rampage, possibly killing dozens. It would be quite the slaughter fest, really.

And Rex hated it. He hated what he was doing, even if it was the best decision in his mind. He didn't want to see innocent people killed off by an EVO they never expected to find sleeping on the streets. He didn't want to further instill paranoia into the minds of local citizens, causing them to replace their sense of normality with extreme caution. And he certainly didn't want to be the reason why the local graveyard expanded rapidly, forcing people to mourn many more dead relatives than usual. 

But all of it was essential. And for the first time that night, Rex made peace with his actions. 

This was only the beginning.


	2. Chapter 2

"Rex," Six's voice called out to the half asleep boy, "Get up. You slept in through training."

The teen opened his eyes to find the green ninja standing right next to his bedside in the bunker, the usual stoic look plastered across his face. It was a calm and quiet morning, and it seemed that he'd slept in most of it- he checked his phone to find it was almost ten in the morning. Rex yawned and shifted his legs to sit up, wondering what sort of training was in store for him.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" the boy asked, his usual cheeky smile donning his features. "Looks like this is your fault, Six."

Six raised a brow at the teen's reaction towards his awakening. Normally the child would be annoyed and complain about work, but this time, he was seemingly amused by it. The green suited man nonetheless shrugged it off as an odd effect of sleep deprivation, and began to walk out the bunker. 

"I had to take down minor EVOs," Six replied, opening the door to leave. "Remember, we don't have Providence soldiers to take care of things anymore."

Rex shrugged. "Yeah, that's what happens when Black Knight comes around. But it's a good thing we've still got Tighty Whitey around, right?"

The teen giggled at his own joke as he watched his aggro nanny leave, then rushed to change his clothes and grab his goggles before following suit. Judging by his actions from the previous night, today would be a very eventful day indeed. Rex supposed that was the reason he was cheery instead of grumpy in the morning- after all, he would hopefully get some majorly important plans done today.

Even if he did have to hurt some people to achieve them.

Rex bounded down the halls of their new hideaway base, feeling much more energized than when he'd woken up. True, he'd barely slept last night, so proper rest wasn't what was keeping him awake. Rather, it was the familiar adrenaline that pumped through his veins that kept him conscious and alert, and he knew he'd have to struggle to hide it from his coworker family. They might become suspicious of his behavior, after all.

And none of the best criminals showed warning signs.

"Hey, Doc," the teen greeted the woman sitting at a desk and pushing her face into a microscope. "Sorry I slept late. What's the punishment for missing training?"

Doctor Holiday turned her head to give him a quick smirk, then glanced back at her work. "I don't know, Rex. It's up to Six today. I've got too much work to handle."

"What are you doing?"

"Six brought me back some EVO samples from his trip out this morning- I think it's sweet- and I've got all day to analyze them. The measurements of the size of their DNA is remarkable, and I might even begin to see the formation of new types of nucleotides. In fact-"

"Finally, the laziest worker on the team is awake," White Knight's voice interrupted as he entered the room. "Do you expect everyone to cater to your every whim?"

Rex's blood ran ice cold.

"Mm, no, I was just tired," the boy said slowly, his smile suddenly as fake as plastic. "I accidentally stayed up too late."

"At least you acknowledge your faults," the man in white scoffed. "Now, if only you could do that more often. No good weapon stays useless for long."

Rex remained silent, not trusting himself to speak. Then, only a few seconds later, he grinned genuinely. There was no need to talk when actions spoke louder than words, after all.

"Of course, sir," he mumbled under his breath. "I'm your perfect weapon."

Out of the blue, the sound of an alarm blasted through the building, causing the three of them to jolt in shock. Six hurried into the room, though not entering more than three feet inside. 

"Rex," the man called out to him, "We have an EVO attack on the intersection of Britter and Pell. There have already been reports of multiple injuries. Under no circumstances should we allow Black Knight to reach this one."

Rex beamed, seeing that his hidden plans had successfully been set into motion. "Got it! It's a race! Coming!"

He rushed through the halls of the Base with the ninja, enthusiasm apparent in every step he took. Six thought nothing of it, attributing it to his usual teenage antics, and directed him towards the city with various orders. By the time they reached their intended destination, sparse amounts of blood had already been scattered across the streets. People screamed and desperately tried to drive away, only creating further traffic for themselves. It was complete and utter chaos plaguing a normally safe part of the city, and the teen's grin only stretched wider.

It was perfect.

"There it is," Six shouted, pointing to a silvery, metallic EVO causing havoc by thrashing at the cars around itself. "Not the most dangerous, but still nothing you want to aggravate further. Our best decision would be to take it through the forest, away from the civilians."

"Your swords can cut through that armor, right?" the boy asked, activating his jet pack and landing about a thirty feet away from the rampaging creature. "It's metal, but you can do better! I'll hold it down for you!"

Of course, the boy had no intentions of restraining the EVO. It would complete defeat the purpose of why he'd placed it there, after all. Instead, he made few swinging attempts at it with his Smackhands, missing the target on purpose. Judging by the way the silvery creature became startled and thrashed around even more, he'd accomplished the goal of forcing it to become even more dangerous. 

Too bad the next part of his plan was a bit emotionally painful.

"Six!" Rex called out to his stoic mentor, making his voice as dramatic as possible. "I need help bad! It keeps getting away! I need your green bean ninja skills!"

The quiet agent sighed and scaled down the building he'd kept an eye out from, eventually landing only a few feet from the teen. "You need to learn to make an opening for an attack, not just wait for the opportunity."

"Yeah, okay, whatever," the young EVO groaned, making sure his acting skills were up to par. "Can you come look at this for a second? I think I found its weakness!"

Six and Rex wandered closer to the monstrous EVO, avoiding being hit by its long, spiky legs. The teen pointed at a black patch on the EVO's back, recognizing a lack of protective scales. 

"It's right there!" the boy exclaimed, waving his hand frantically. "See it? Just dig your swords in there and it'll finally stop wrecking the place! Move a little closer and you'll find it!"

Six shook his head and walked a few steps forward, taking a closer look at the dark patch. "I know, Rex. It's obvious. Now, I need you to-"

The green ninja's words were cut off by a harsh blow to the back of his head, caused by Rex swinging his partially metal fists as hard as he could at the man's cranium. Six instantly fell unconscious, dropping into his attacker's waiting arms. The boy then used one Smackhand to carry his mentor as he made his hasty escape away from the chaotic scene, his heart pounding louder than the beat drops from his favorite music. 

"I'm really sorry about that," the teen apologized to Six's unconscious body, smashing a window of an apartment room and placing his mentor safely onto a bed inside. "I didn't wanna do it, but you're gonna be okay. Doc's gonna fix you up just fine. She always does."

Rex then dashed out of the window and reentered the intersection and surrounding areas, trapping the EVO with unmoving cars. It horrified him when he realized that the vehicles were full of dead people, but he shook his head at his emotions, reminding himself that some collateral damage was necessary. He then made sure that the deadly EVO was still alive and fine, albeit heavily restrained.

"Someone's having a little trouble."

Rex spun around to find Black Knight standing a few feet away, making his eyes widen in shock. He knew he should have expected her, but with his plans being executed exactly the way he wanted them to, he realized he'd gotten too distracted. If he didn't fix the situation soon, everything he'd worked for for the past week would be lost.

"Ugh, not you again," the teen whined, genuinely this time. "I should have known you wanted another pet. What's this one gonna do, feed you grapes?"

Black Knight shrugged, her smug remaining intact. "No, but if you came to work for me, perhaps you could. Unlike White Knight, I'd actually pay you."

"That's a tempting offer, not gonna lie. But this EVO's my new buddy, and we've already bonded. You can't have him."

"I take what I want. Who are you against hundreds of my soldiers?"

Rex's eyes widened and peered around the streets, suddenly seeing various black soldiers invading the area. His heart sank to his stomach, making him wonder if this was really how fast he'd take a loss from the madwoman. Six was already down, and it was too late for Holiday to help. He scowled when he realized he'd sabotaged himself, courtesy of his own carelessness. 

Unless he patched things up within the next few moments, he could kiss his mission goodbye.

"Wait!" Rex frantically yelled, desperation clear in his voice. "I'll give you the EVO. You can have him. But let's make a deal first."

Black Knight stared at the boy, astonished. "Are you giving up that soon?"

Rex scoffed. "No, I'm not. I'm actually gaining something from this in the end. But I wanna make a deal with you about it. You wanna hear it or not?"

"Go on," the woman replied, completely thrown off by the suggestion. "But if you think I know you won't attempt to backstab me in any way-"

"Shut up, I'm not backstabbing anyone," the teen cut her off. "That's your thing, anyways. Look. I'm going to take the EVO for a a couple of hours. Maybe not even that long, I don't know. But after I'm done with it, I'm going to bring it back here, and you can collar it and stuff. Okay?"

"What are you planning on doing with it?"

"None of your business. But I'm not going to use it against you, I promise. Deal?"

The violet-haired woman paused for a few seconds before nodding her head. "I don't know what you think you're doing, and I'll be sure to be on the watch for any attacks on my people, but... I suppose it's a deal."

Rex smirked. 

He was back on track.


	3. Chapter 3

Rex flew into the air and onto the top of the nearest building, excited to see Black Knight calling off her troops for the moment. He supposed she thought he wanted to join her again. He was by no means brainwashed by her friendly attitude, however, and knew exactly what kind of a person she was. Black Knight could pretend to be nice all she wanted.

The boy had bigger things to worry about. 

"White Knight!" Rex shouted into his earpiece, alerting his boss back at Base. "The EVO just took out Six! I can't do this alone, and I really need your help!"

White Knight, shocked to hear of the fate of his green worker, instantly responded. "What's his status?"

"He's just knocked out," the boy replied, watching the silver EVO cause further havoc in the streets. "He still has a good heartbeat. But you need to come quick! Even Black Knight's threatening to take it into her control!"

"You can't cure it yourself?" his boss replied agitatedly. "I need to hold this place down for my protection and for the Base itself! Do your job!"

Rex scowled, unwilling to fail his personal mission. "It just took out Six, and bruised me! Plus, there are people dying here! Holiday can hold down fort!"

"Fine!" White Knight snapped. "Keep the civilians safe until I get there! Keep Six safe!"

Rex let out a whoop of cheer as the comm link went dead, feeling completely satisfied. He felt like a master chess player, understanding the joy of having all of the pieces in his control. For once, he was in charge, bound by no laws from anyone on Earth. It felt amazing to be free.

He could feel all the regrets about his plans melt away.

The teen dived back into the lower parts of the city, swooping in to rescue anyone who was caught in the hazardous intersection. He cleared up the cars with his Smackhands, placed people safely in nearby apartments, and even landed them on rooftops. Adults and children cheered alike as they were pulled out of danger, chanting his name like an ecstatic cult. 

It almost made the boy feel guilty for what he'd forced them into.

After twenty minutes of saving the locals, he finally spotted White Knight in the crowd as well, shining suit of armor and all. His boss was clearly eager to apprehend the silver EVO, pushing away cars and entering the scene with metaphorical guns ablaze. Rex chuckled and swooped down to fly at eye level with the angry man.

"How is our laziest worker on the team?" the boy joked, dodging a tire the raging EVO had thrown from a distance. "This one's the perfect strength match for you, just a heads up."

"We need to lure it away from the people," the man retorted, ignoring the subtle jab at his earlier words. Rex shivered, recalling how eerily similar Six's commands had been. Then again, they were more experienced with protocol than he was. 

"I think I know a way," the young EVO began, adrenaline coursing through his entire body. "There's a hole in the streets that leads to abandoned subway lines just under here. We can take it there."

"Why didn't you do it earlier, then?"

"Too busy saving Six."

White Knight rolled his eyes but agreed, knocking away cars to get to the EVO. Rex used his Smackhands to pull on the EVO's many legs, and with the help of his boss, dragged it to a hole leading to the underground. Every time the man in white attempted to damage the creature as much as he could, the teen blocked his efforts and insisted they were accidents.

He couldn't let the EVO die, after all. 

"You keep getting in my way!" White Knight shouted at the boy, finally wrestling the creature into the dark passages below and jumping into them himself. Rex pretended to look shocked.

"I'm sorry!" the boy fibbed, pushing the EVO deeper into the dirty tunnels. "I didn't mean to! I was just trying to make sure the civilians weren't gonna die too! This thing's really violent!"

His boss snorted. "It's hardly anything you couldn't take care of. Maybe if you woke up earlier, this would be over and done with!"

"Yeah, but- AAAH!"

Rex dodged a spiky leg from the creature, narrowly avoiding being cut in half. The same couldn't be said for White Knight's suit, however. A large, bloodless gash formed in the tough exterior of the metal suit, surprising them both.

"Get this thing subdued!" the man shouted, hearing the suit's programmed voice informing him of the damage. "I can't go EVO! I'm the only one with no risk of losing my humanity! Kill it!"

Rex used his Slam Cannon to shoot a moderately sized chunk of rock at the silver EVO, forcing it onto the tracks, then pushed White Knight into safety. "Look! I've got nanites, okay? Let me help you repair the suit. I promise I won't let them enter your body!"

White Knight scowled. "How can you be sure you don't accidentally let the blasted machines into me?"

Rex frowned. "Hey, I wouldn't do that. I know we aren't exactly super friendly with each other, but you can trust me!"

"I-"

The man's reply was drowned out by the tormented roar of the EVO that now charged straight at them. Rex shoved the creature onto the tracks even harder, then placed his hands on the pale suit of armor. 

"We don't have time for this!" the teen quickly informed him. "Do you want me to save your life or not?"

"Hurry up with it, then! Stop wasting my time!"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Tighty Whitey. You don't really have that much time left."

Before his boss could respond, Rex sent a wave of nanites into the suit's mainframe, taking over the controls. Quickly, the boy deactivated as many defense systems as he could, from projectile missiles, laser beams, sharp weaponry, and even the basic nanite repelling program. By the time he released his grip on the suit, the pale man was completely vulnerable, his suit ninety percent inactive.

Rex didn't bother with full damage. He'd done enough.

"What did you do?" White Knight hissed, his suit's voice informing him of the forced shutdown. "What happened to my weaponry?"

Rex tilted his head, making a face. "You know I can control machines, right? You let me take control, and now, you've pretty much screwed yourself over."

"Why-"

The silver EVO, only mildly wounded- just as Rex had wanted it to be- lunged at the vulnerable White Knight, smashing the man against a wall. All the pale leader could do was weakly fight back as the creature used its razor sharp teeth to rip his suit away, even if it took plenty of energy. This time, however, Rex wasn't rescuing him at all.

"That must really hurt, huh?" The teen remarked, watching as the man's newly revealed skin slowly got covered in fresh blood. "Ouch. This one's a fighter."

"Why- AAGH- aren't you knocking it OFF?” his boss screeched, immense amounts of pain crawling through his nerves. "Get over here and KILL IT!"

"Nah. I'm pretty sick of you, to be honest. When's the last time you treated me like a human instead of a machine?"

The gears began to turn in the pale man's mind. "Is THIS what this is about? When I get out of- AAAH- here, I'm going to lock you up for the rest of your life!"

Rex stuck out his tongue. "Who says you're getting out? In case it hasn't settled in yet, today's your last day on earth. You could try apologizing to me for treating me like I'm subhuman."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"Murder."

Rex formed a Smackhand and shooed the EVO away temporarily, though making sure it wasn't angry at him- only fearful. He then knelt down to where White Knight lay prone on floor, blood leaking from his mouth, nose, and various wounds. It was a scarlet mess for sure, and he made sure not to get any of it on his clothes.

"So, for your last few minutes ever, I'd just like to let you know that you suck as a leader, and that the world's better off without you," Rex casually informed him. "You don't have respect for anyone who follows your commands, you treat me like I don't have emotions at all, and for some reason, you think it's all okay. But it's not okay."

White Knight coughed weakly, his human figure fatally destroyed by the silver EVO. "You're... you're not going to... get away from this. They'll... know."

"Actually," Rex began, "They won't suspect a thing. After all, the only thing they'll find out is that you were dragged away by a bloodthirsty EVO- that is, if they can find your body. I'll honestly have no idea where our razor sharp friend here will take you. Buen viaje."

"You don't... know what will happen. They're going to... fall apart without me."

"I think we'll do just fine. You're useless."

"You... have no idea what you've... done."

The teen punched the man square in the back of his head. "I'm getting rid of someone who doesn't care to treat me right. Even when I came back after six months, after all the work I've done for you, you said you didn't care that I was gone. As someone without a solid family, do you know how much that hurt? I'm tired of hiding my true feelings behind jokes."

"You're... weak."

Rex pulled back his fist to throw the deadliest punch he'd ever forced in his life, then paused. Instead, he stood up, taking care to not be tainted by bloody filth, and called the silver EVO over.

"Kill him," the boy commanded. "Hurry up."

He stepped aside as the metallic EVO made its way forward, stretching its scaly leg backward then delivering the fatal blow, piercing the man's skull. Rex jolted at the sound of the crunch, and watched as damaged brains began to ooze out of the deceased's leader's head. 

"Eh, it's not like he used them anyway," Rex muttered. "Go on, take him."

The boy stepped back, and the EVO snatched White Knight's body up by the waist, prying the rest of the corpse out of the suit like the meat out of a lobster's exoskeleton, and dashing into the darkness of the subway tunnels to enjoy its well earned meal to make up for its troubles. 

Rex suddenly felt a cold shiver throughout his body, and couldn't tell if it was from the murder, or just from the temperature of the underground space. 

He couldn't undo anything.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y’all didn’t leave Bc of the last chapter lol

“What happened?”

Holiday’s eyes went wide as she watched Rex carry the unconscious Six into the main room, and she scrambled to find a cause for the ninja’s injuries. The boy smiled at her concern and placed his mentor onto an examination table that, thankfully, doubled as a bed.

“He only got hit in the head,” Rex assured her, hoping to tone down her fears. “He’s not hurt anywhere else. The EVO just thwacked him when he wasn’t looking.”

The doctor calmed down a bit, but fear was still apparent on her face. “How? He’s usually good at avoiding that. What kind of an EVO was it?”

“Nothing that can multiply or spread evil ooze, I’ll tell you that,” the boy joked, trying to insert humor into the situation. “He’ll be okay, right? I got him to safety as soon as he blacked out.”

Holiday glanced down at Six, and raised a knowing brow. “I guess you’re right.”

“I’m conscious, Rex.”

The teen nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized that his mentor had already awoken just a few seconds ago, and a chill ran down his spine. Hopefully, the agent would-

“The EVO must have had extreme speed abilities,” Six informed the woman standing above him. “I didn’t even see the hit. Or, one of Black Knight’s pawns must have attacked. I saw a few of them around from the rooftop. Which was it, Rex?”

Rex frowned. “It was the EVO. That hit was lightning fast. You should have seen it- er, no offense. Are you okay?”

“Just a headache,” the green agent responded. “I need rest, is all.”

“I think so too,” Holiday piped up. “And I’ll make sure you don’t try to escape on a mission if you’re not ready. You’re staying here with me.”

If he hadn’t just carried out a murder, Rex would have waggled his brows.

“Well, I gotta go,” the teen announced, heading out the room. “Kinda wanna grab a bite to eat.”

“I suppose you deserve it, seeing as how you cured such a dangerous EVO,” the doctor agreed. “I’ll give you some money.”

Rex paled. “C-cured? Oh.”

Six turned his aching head to glance at the boy. “Did you cure it?”

The young EVO let out a deep sigh, and turned around. “No, it... it was an incurable. Sorry. I had to... you know.”

Holiday nodded. “I see. Well, enjoy a meal anyway. I know you want to forget all of this. We only have each other, after all.”

A small smile crept onto the boy’s face. “Yep. We do. And it’s perfect.”

“We might want to inform White Knight about my injuries so he doesn’t send me out to another mission without your permission, Doctor Holiday,” Six chimed in. “You know how he is about being aware of everything.”

Rex froze.

“True,” Holiday responded, “I should go tell him. If he gets mad, you could bring him a glass of milk or something, huh, Rex?”

The joke was lost on the teen as his mind frantically searched for a way to break it to them that their pasty leader was never coming back. He then shook his head at himself, remembering that he’d already came up with a solid lie long before the man had died. 

“Um... about that,” Rex nervously began, fake concern melting across his features, “He went on the mission with me for backup, but he didn’t come back yet. He told me that he’d take care of the EVO while I brought Six back for you.”

Six and Holiday glanced at each other. 

“It’s been a while,” the ninja muttered. “But I suppose he’s on field duty today.”

“Afternoon, chief!” a familiar simian voice greeted them. “It’s a heck of a lot of damage out there. Barely managed to get away.”

“Bobo, are you talking about the EVO at the intersection?” the doctor asked, her green eyes bright with curiosity. “Was it really that bad?”

The chimp shook his head and scratched his armpit. “Yeah, the EVO wasn’t really the problem. There’s a lot of Black Knight’s soldiers out there. The lady herself is standing at the intersection, staring at the streets for no reason. I always knew she was a few bananas short of a Fruity Tooty Smoothie.”

Rex nearly smacked himself in the face, recalling the deal he’d made with the woman in black. He couldn’t exactly fulfill his end of the deal anymore, seeing as he had no idea where the silver EVO even was. The subway tunnels were dangerous, and honestly, he expected the creature to get lost and possibly starve in there.

It was far better than him being sent to prison for the rest of his life. 

“Yeah she’s... crazy,” the boy added nervously. “White Knight can deal with her. He’s great for stuff like that.”

The words felt like acid on his tongue.

“Rex, are you alright?” the lab coat clad woman asked, her tone outright motherly. “It sounds like something’s wrong.”

The perfect criminals show no warning signs.

“I’m fine,” the young EVO replied. “I just got kinda hurt at the EVO fight, got a little tired, and scared when Six got knocked out. It’s just been a really draining day so far, you know?”

“Well let’s get some chow, then,” Bobo suggested, grabbing the boy’s arm and leaving the room with him. “Pizza or burgers?”

“Burgers.”

 

An hour later, they found themselves at a relatively new fast food joint, eager to stuff themselves with everything and anything unhealthy. With an equally unhealthy side item, of course. Rex was intrigued by the Grand Canyon theme of the restaurant, admiring how even the seats were shaped like mountains. The tables added to the aesthetic as well, each one with a serene mountainside landscape painted onto it. It was an unusual setting, but if the food was good, he could hardly complain about anything.

But his breath ran cold when he spotted two black clad soldiers standing against the walls.

“Um, maybe we should try another place?” the teen suggested, tugging on Bobo’s sleeve. The chimp grimaced. 

“We’ve been waiting in line for ten minutes,” the monkey shot back. “We’re almost at the end, pal. Good grub waits for no one.”

“Yeah but... Providence is around.”

Bobo peered around the restaurant, finding that the boy’s words were true. The soldiers in the building seemed to be staring straight at them, unsettlingly enough. An nervous feeling began to permeate through the boy’s body, turning his stomach and forcing him to lose much of his appetite.

“That’s nuts,” the monkey remarked, interrupting the sickly sensations in the teen’s stomach. “We’re not even close to the intersection. I made sure of it.”

The boy gazed at the two soldiers, his heart rate beginning to speed up. “Well then why do you think they’re here? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe they’re looking for something.”

Rex cursed under his breath, realizing that Black Knight must have gotten irritated by his unkept promise and sent out pawns to find him. The silver EVO was powerful, after all, and would likely make for a good soldier. It was just his luck, really. He hasn’t counted on her involvement at all, and was slowly beginning to wonder if his plans were a little too hasty. It would make sense, considering how they were mostly emotionally fueled, and-

No.

Rex refused to regret what he’d done. The man had treated him like a mindless slave for much too long to be given sympathy.

“Look,” the boy began, “We can come back later. Let’s just wait out whatever weird thing Black Knight’s doing and eat somewhere else. There’s always pizza, anyways.”

Bobo turned to the teen with a confused look on his stout face. “The lady’s crazy, but she’s not that crazy. She’s not forcing you to join her unless you want to, remember? She doesn’t care about snatching us up.”

“Who knows?” Rex retorted, creeped out by the way the guards stared at him, unmoving. “I don’t wanna be around her soldiers. It’s-“

“Hi boys, welcome to Boulder Burgers. What can I get you?”

Bobo turned to face the woman at the front and beamed. “Finally. I’d like a.. triple cheese bomb burger with a side of chili fries. Extra grease!”

“Bobo,” the teen murmured agitatedly, “Let’s go.”

“Too late, Chief. Order up!”

“Ugh. Okay, but I want this to go. I’ll have a plain burger with a side of fries. Don’t really have the appetite for anything more.”

The woman at the front nodded, absentmindedly running a hand through her red hair. “Got it. That’s order number fourteen. Take a seat and wait for it to be called out. Thank you!”

Rex sighed as he made his way towards a seat against the wall, purposefully next to a window. That way, he could smash it and run through if anything happened. His simian companion, meanwhile, sat down and stared at the child as if he’d grown a new EVO power.

“We come all this way through that line, and you order what I could find in a dumpster?” Bobo asked incredulously. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were a Robo Rex.”

The teen shrugged, then glanced around at the black clad soldiers. “I know it’s weird, but I think something’s really wrong about all this. I wish I could tell you more, but I just know this isn’t one of Black Knight’s normal daily schemes.”

“What do you mean you wish you could tell me? Why won’t you?”

Rex spun his head around so fast he almost got whiplash. “No! I’m not saying I’m hiding anything, I’m just saying that I wish I knew more, so that way, I could tell you more. I guess it came out kind of awkward. Sorry.”

Bobo huffed. “You don’t gotta be sorry, pal, but the goth chick’s rubbing you in all the wrong ways.”

“Ew.”

“Ew, yourself.”


	5. Chapter 5

Bobo burped.

“That was great.” the chimp remarked, patting his belly. The two had finally finished their food, satisfied with the new restaurant. “We should come here every time you pound some freak.”

“It was nice.” Rex admitted, admiring how the taste of his burger had even brought some of his appetite back. The taste had even made him reconsider his request for a to go order. “But we gotta go. The pawns were watching us the entire time.”

“I’d be jealous too.”

The teen rolled his eyes and stood up, motioning Bobo to follow suit. Strangely enough, as he’d noticed, the black clad soldiers made no effort to subdue him. They were almost like flies on a wall- observing, but remaining silent. During the course of his meal, the boy had even tried making various hand signals at them- vulgar or otherwise- in an attempt to rouse some form of activity.

But nothing had worked.

Rex threw his burger wrappings into a nearby trash can and slowly inched towards the door. One of the soldiers stood only five feet from the entrance, their head turning to lock sights on the teen. The young EVO felt a shiver crawl down his spine, but due to the pawn’s unwillingness to move, he was able to leave the building without a hitch.

“That was weird,” the boy muttered, making sure Bobo tagged right along with him. “What do you think Black Knight ordered them to do?”

Bobo shrugged. “Maybe they’re just there to eat.”

“They weren’t even in line.”

“The line was long. I don’t blame ‘em for waiting.”

They meandered through the parking lot, the occasional paranoid gut feeling making Rex’s stomach slosh. The young EVO wasn’t usually on edge this much, and he supposed it was due to the fact that he was hiding lethal secrets. But jumpiness was becoming too out of character for him, and he need to set himself straight quick. If-

The window of a nearby car cast the reflection of a pawn.

The teen spun around to find the same two soldiers standing about a twenty feet away, apparently following them back from the restaurant. They hadn’t attacked yet, but it was still jarring to find them stalking him. Bobo turned around and noticed them as well, instantly reaching for where his guns were supposed to be.

“Think they’re hitmen?” the chimp asked, regretting leaving his blasters at the Base. Rex shook his head.

“Don’t think so.” the teen denied, backing away slowly. The pawns only moved closer. “They’re probably not gonna kill me, since they could have done that at the restaurant. I don’t think BK cares about collateral damage. But they’re definitely doing something with us.”

“Hey! Don’t bring me into this!”

Rex realized that Bobo, despite his joke, might have actually been right. The soldiers might have wanted nothing at all to do with the monkey- after all, Bobo wasn’t the one who broke a deal. Another shiver crept up his spine as he wondered what the pawns might want to do to him. 

Was he under punishment? Were they going to torture him? Would they-

No time to think.

“Let’s run!” the boy shouted, forming his Rex Ride and pulling Bobo onto it. “Or drive! Whatever! Let’s just go!”

He hightailed it out of the parking lot and onto the streets, then glanced back to see what the black pawns would do in response. To his horror, they summoned a two sleek, speedy motorcycles from the lot and hopped onto them, chasing after him. 

The teen yelped and revved his engine, speeding down the road and narrowly avoiding other vehicles. His smaller size allowed him to maneuver around the traffic, though there was something to be said about the efficiency of his drifting.

But the soldiers were still on their tail.

“What does it take to lose ‘em?” Bobo complained. “I’m trying not to lose my lunch here!”

Rex glanced back at the soldiers, then grinned. “They can burn rubber, but they can’t fly.”

Rex waited until he drove into a clearing before dismantling his ride and forming large metal wings. He should have thought of it earlier, really. It was highly unlikely that they could fly, unless Black Knight had amped up their tech department. Still, his best bet was the sky. Unless they had a helicopter after him as well-

A sharp jolt of electricity shocked his entire body, forcing him to deactivate his wings. He and the monkey fell to the ground from about a meter in the air, rolling for a few feet before coming to a stop. The gravel of the streets was harsh against the teen’s skin, and he struggled to stand up after the unexpected impact.

“Ow!” Rex groaned, rubbing his head. “What was that?”

Bobo shook his head to clear it, then grabbed onto the boy’s leg to help himself up. “Don’t know, but it might have to do with that thing they shot on your back.”

The young EVO reached around his back and patted anywhere he could, his eyes widening when he touched a small, metal ring. With tiny Velcro-like needles, it had latched onto his clothes and sent out the painful signals to force him to destroy his mechanical wings. The teen stood up and tried to activate his Rex Ride to save face, but the ring blasted him with another jolt of electricity, forcing that build to crumble as well.

“It’s ruining my powers!” Rex yelled, backing himself against a tree to keep himself upright. “I can’t make anything! How are they doing that?”

The boy and his monkey watched as the two guards jumped off their motorcycles and began to walk towards them. The young EVO put his fists up in front of his face, remembering the fighting tactics Six had taught him when his nanites malfunctioned. The pawns didn’t seem to acknowledge the fighting stance, however, and continued making their way closer.

Soon, they stood right in front of Rex.

“I’m not going down without knocking at least one of you out,” the boy warned. “And don’t even think I’m gonna join Black Kni-“

The teen’s words were cut off when one of the soldiers silently thrusted a digital timer in front of his face. Bobo craned his neck to stare at the numbers, cocking a brow.

“Three hours?” the chimp read, perplexed. “Three hours to what?”

Rex, seeing no warning signs of assault, hesitantly took the timer from the soldier, trailing his eyes across the bright red pixels. “I... hold on. Is this how long you’re going to be following us around?”

The soldiers nodded. 

Bobo grimaced. “Great. We got stalkers. And they’re not even trying to hide it.”

“Are you gonna try to kill or kidnap us?” the teen asked the pawns, ignoring the monkey’s remarks. 

The soldiers shook their heads.

“So you’re just gonna follow us around?” the chimp asked. “Why does your boss wanna babysit us?”

“Rex is under strict watch until he fulfills his end of the deal,” one of the pawns began. “He has three hours to do so, and Black Knight has been generous with the extra hour. Should he fail to meet the request, we will have no choice but to bring him back to her.”

Bobo tugged at Rex’s jacket. “What deal?”

The teen gulped. “I saw her at the intersection when I was fighting the EVO, and I... joked about giving it to her so she could collar it. I was being sarcastic, but I think she took me seriously.”

The pawn turned to stare at him. “Black Knight didn’t think it was a joke.”

“Well, uh, I don’t really know what to do about that.”

“We’ll keep following you until you fulfill her request.”

Bobo huffed. “She really doesn’t get humor, huh? Why did she believe you anyway?”

The boy turned to the chimp, struggling to find more suitable lies- or at least some half-truths. “She probably thought I was gonna take up on her offers to join her or something. I was just messing around. I didn’t mean for it to come off like I was gonna ditch you guys for her.”

“Well, pal, you’re in for it. If they’re following you around, you can’t go back to Base... but I can!”

“Bobo, no!” Rex shouted as he watched the monkey scamper away. “I need you here with me!”

“Relax, Chief!” Bobo yelled back before disappearing into the distance. “I’m telling the Doc and Green Bean! They’ll find a way out of it!”

The boy nervously turned back to the pawns. “Aren’t you gonna go after him?”

“No. Our orders are specifically for you.”

Rex groaned.


	6. Chapter 6

Rex took a sip of his soda and dug the timer out of his pocket, glancing at the digital numbers.

Two hours left.

The boy sighed and threw the now empty can in the trash, rubbing the back of his head to de-stress himself. He sat at a food court in a local mall, the soldiers from earlier watching him from the nearby seats. The boy had made a deal with them earlier, insisting that he wouldn’t cause trouble if they just kept their distance while following him. He’d then taken a trip to the shopping center, due to the fact that he could easily blend into a crowd of people in case he was attacked. 

But insofar, the pawns had remained harmless.

“Bobo,” the teen muttered, reaching for a napkin to clean a small spill he’d made earlier, “You better keep your word. Where’s Doc when you need her?”

“You okay, guy?”

Rex’s jaw dropped when he found Feakins suddenly sliding into the seat across him. “What- why- what-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” the man cut him off, sipping an orange milkshake. “Relax, you’re not in danger. I’m just an extra babysitter. I’m really liking this Tangerine Twist!”

“Or, she sent you to keep my powers dead in case her little machine broke,” the young EVO pointed out. “I’m guessing this thing’s an untested prototype.”

“Mhm.”

“Wow. She really doesn’t have any trust in me at all.”

Feakins shrugged. “Can you blame her? She said you’re trying to cheat her out of a shiny lookin’ EVO. I thought she was talking about you, but apparently not.”

Rex rolled his eyes. “Well I guess I am cheating her, because she’s not getting it. I don’t even know where it-“

“Rex!” Holiday’s voice chimed into his earpiece. The boy felt elated to finally hear her voice again. “Are you alright? Bobo told me everything!”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the teen responded gratefully, holding a hand up to silence his geeky companion. “I’m at the mall right now. What took you guys so long?”

“I’m sorry, Rex,” the woman apologized. “I’ve been trying to contact White Knight for a while, but he’s not picking up. I think the EVO he went after might have smashed his communicator. I lost track of time.”

The boy winced at the mention of his victim. “It’s okay, I understand. But can you get me out of here?”

“It’ll be tough,” the doctor admitted. “It’s the four of us against an entire armed organization. Well, three, seeing as how White Knight hasn’t come back yet. I wish I could send him to get you, since Six still isn’t ready for a mission yet.”

Self sabotage.

Rex scowled. The last thing he needed was the man’s disappearance being rubbed in his face from time to time. The whole point of a murder was to erase the existence of someone- at least he thought it was- but he didn’t think about the consequences of the victim still being mentioned after his death. Even if someone’s body is gone, their memory was strong, it seemed.

Or maybe that was just his nerves talking.

“Yeah, he’s probably still fighting the EVO or something,” the boy lied. “Maybe you could-“

“The same EVO that Black Knight’s after?” Holiday asked, interrupting him. “Bobo mentioned the deal you made. It must be really significant, if both White and Black Knight are after it.”

Rex nodded, raising a brow at how quickly Feakins finished his milkshake. “Yeah, it’s pretty powerful. Razor spikes and scales, great at destruction, and spit that melted stuff- just a little bit. But can you-“

“That does sound dangerous,” the doctor agreed. “I’d need backup too because- wait. Rex, what’s with your biometrics? They’re incredibly low, almost bordering on nonexi-“

“I’m sitting next to Feakins,” the teen cut her off, eyeing the man in front of him. “The walking nanite deadzone. Black Knight sent him to be with me so I couldn’t activate my powers. Again.”

“Can you escape without detection?”

“Not this time. I’m being watched by a couple of her soldiers.”

Holiday sighed. “I’m going to have to really think this through, Rex. I’m sorry I don’t have a solution right now. But hang in there, alright? I’ll talk later.”

Rex frowned as the comm link went dead, wishing there were more people to save him. Not White Knight, of course- or, as he now liked to call him, “Shite Knight”- but perhaps Six or Bobo. Maybe even the lovely doctor herself. Was the Base really that vulnerable without them?

“So,” the milkshake maniac began, interrupting the teen’s thoughts, “Know how to escape? I mean, I’m staying for dessert, but how are you gonna get away?”

The boy propped his arm up on the table and rested his chin. “Well, let’s see. I’m surrounded, powerless, and trapped by the leader of Providence. Who might want to kill me.”

Feakins nodded. “Sounds tough, guy, but you can’t give up yet.”

“Here’s what I’m confused about, though. There are a ton of other EVOs that pop up in the city. Why is Black Knight specifically after the one at the intersection? I mean yeah, it was pretty powerful, but so are others.”

“I think I know the answer to that,” the geeky man responded, tossing away his milkshake cup. “So, they want me for my anti nanite powers, and then they put me in the tech department, right? Yeah. And I’ve been hearing talk about the EVO collars with new features. I think she’s looking for more EVOs to test them out on.”

The boy cocked a brow. “That really doesn’t sound good. What kind of new features are you talking about?”

“New commands, more brain control over EVOs who try to fight it off, things like that. I’m telling you, it’s pretty crazy.”

“Maybe she’s going through all this trouble to put it on me,” Rex guessed. “I thought the leader of Providence as a man was insane enough, but it’s pretty obvious that women are equally deadly- wait. Women!”

It was the accountant’s turn to raise a brow. “Yeah, guy, she’s a woman. Even if she has short hair. In fact, during the flapper movement back in the nineteen twenties-“

“No! Listen. I’ve got a plan. But I’m gonna have to leave you here. I guess this is goodbye, until whenever your boss makes you babysit me again.”

“See you, then.”

Rex stood up and stretched, then walked over to the soldiers who had continued to spy on him the entire time, though not closely enough to hear his words. They stared at him silently as he then stood in front of their table, showing no signs of a looming attack.

“I don’t know if you guys are extra paranoid about this or whatever,” the teen began, “But I’m gonna go use the bathroom.”

One of the soldiers nodded and stood up. “I’m coming with you.”

“Really? You gonna come in the stall and wipe my ass too?”

“We’re only standing outside the bathroom to make sure you don’t escape.”

Rex shook his head, pretending to be aggravated, and placed a hand in front of the pawn. “Got it. But remember, stay at least twenty feet away from me. I don’t wanna draw attention to myself with a Providence agent following me around.”

“Fine.”

The boy hurried off to the mall bathrooms, glad to see that the soldier stayed the appropriate distance away. The young EVO then located the restroom signs and entered the small hallway that led to the desired rooms. Before the pawn could reach the entrance of the hallway, however, Rex slipped inside the women’s bathroom, hoping his stalker wouldn’t think to look inside there.

But a few women’s gasps distracted him from his ploy.

“Get out!” a young blonde shouted, backing away from the teen. “Idiot! You’re in the wrong room!”

Rex held up his hands and tried to look as harmless as possible, hoping the rest of the women wouldn’t start berating him as well. “No, look! I’m not going to do anything. I just... um... the men’s room is full right now, and I really have to pee. I’m just going in and out quick. It’s an emergency!”

A redhead fixing her lipstick in the mirror narrowed her eyes at him. “Well... I mean I guess that’s alright. Just be quick about it.”

Rex nodded and rushed to a stall, slamming the door shut. He then internally apologized to everyone in the entire bathroom, removed his orange jacket with the nanite signal blocker on it- the soldiers had forced him to wear it in their sights- and smashed a giant hole in the wall. Fresh, cool air soothed his body as the screams emanating from the women’s- and the nearby men’s- room pierced his ears. The young EVO then molded a Rex Ride and drove out of there as fast as he could, eager to meet the city streets again.

The freedom felt amazing, but not for long.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3

Rex let out a cheer as he zoomed out onto the streets, feeling the cool wind brush against his dark hair as he escaped the vicinity of the mall. The sounds of surprised screams became more and more distant as he sped onwards, quickly forgotten as the boy made a few sharp turns. The most important thing now was to get back to Base and get some relief from constant surveillance.

But an ear-piercing screech jolted him right out of his thoughts.

Rex twisted his head to find a massive blue EVO lumbering after him, knocking cars aside and slowly catching up to his speed. It seemed like mindless rampaging at first, but upon taking a closer look, the teen spotted a familiar metal collar around its wide neck. He shuddered at the memories the mind controlling device brought up, and drove faster to avoid being caught. Luckily, despite the size and strength of the EVO, it wasn’t quite up to par in terms of speed.

“Doc,” the boy called out, pressing his earpiece, “You there? My biometrics are up again.”

The woman’s voice crackled into his ear a few seconds later. “Yes, I can see that. Are you alright? How did you manage to escape? You need to come back to Base immediately.”

“I’m trying, and right now, I’m being chased by one of Black Knight’s pets. It’s too slow, so I’m not worrying much.”

“Hurry, Rex. And I still have to find White Knight. It’s starting to worry me about how he hasn’t responded yet.”

The teen groaned and switched off the connection, feeling a small twinge of guilt. It wasn’t at the fact that he killed his abuser, but rather, the effect it had on people he actually cared about. He supposed that it was only a temporary issue, however, and that it was only a matter of time before they got over it. White Knight had undoubtedly caused tensions with Holiday and Six as well, so they’d surely manage to live on easily after eventually realizing the man wasn’t coming back.

Right?

“Apprehend the subject,” an unfamiliar voice spoke, rousing him from his thoughts. Rex turned his head to find himself almost surrounded by pawns who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. 

“Move, or I’m ramming you all off the road!” the young EVO threatened, preparing to attack. “I don’t have time for this!”

“Black Knight is giving you one last chance to come under her supervision or we’ll capture you, as well as the silver EVO. You’ve lost your extra time privileges.”

“I don’t know where the damn thing is!”

Rex scowled and leaned sideways so he could swerve into the soldiers on both sides, watching their bodies roughly scatter across the pavement. He didn’t want to be so vicious, but they were so irritating, all he wanted to do was swat them off like flies. Unfortunately, despite the fact that he’d thrown off the dark pawns, the giant blue EVO was still raging after him.

The teen tried to make a turn into a left fork of the road, but the moment he did, the EVO let out an enraged shriek and began to run at a speed he hadn’t anticipated. Rex’s eyes widened at the sudden change, estimating that it must have tripled its speed in only ten seconds. It startled him enough to make him drive in a straight line again, forcing him to completely forget about the turn.

“Rex!” Holiday’s distracting voice piped up again, “Do you have any idea where White Knight might be? His communications are completely cut off!”

Rex narrowed his eyes at the horrible timing. “I have no idea where he is. Maybe the EVO he went after scratched up his comm link or something. I really don’t know. Kinda busy here!”

“Sorry. Make it here safely. If the EVO is as slow as you say it is, you’ll do just fine, Rex. Come quick.”

Rex sighed and attempted a right turn, but this time, the creature behind him tripled its pace again, only slowing down when he finally moved back into driving in a straight line. The boy the. drove even faster, utterly confused at the EVO’s strange behavior. It moved quite quickly- even faster than Rex- only when the teen decided to try switching directions. But as he watched the street signs and buildings appear into view before him, he realized exactly what the EVO was commanded to do.

Corral him back to the intersection from that morning.

Black Knight stood atop a pile of wrecked cars, motioning for surrounding pawns to restrain the blue EVO. Rex tried to swerve out of the way, but a multitude of pawns launched themselves off the wreckage and captured him as well, holding him into place. 

Before the teen could activate his wings to shake them off and fly away, yet another nanite signal blocking ring was shot at him- this time onto his leg, preventing the aerial escape. Rex let out a scream as a hoard of soldiers latched onto him like a pool of leeches, forming a ring around him that aimed at least fifteen guns in his direction. 

Black Knight hopped off the cars and onto the ground, smirking as she made her way towards the young EVO.

“Going so soon, Rex?” she asked, her voice prideful. “What happened to your ideas about backstabbing?”

The boy struggled to escape the grip of the soldiers, but failed. “It’s just one EVO! Why do you care so much? Let me go!”

“I’ll admit, I was looking forward to a small partnership, even if it wasn’t meant to last,” the woman informed him. “But I really do want that EVO, Rex. Didn’t you see the damage it caused, and how powerful it was? You know how much I want it safely under my control.”

“So go find it!”

“Where is it?”

Rex groaned, staring in the direction of where he’d helped White Knight push it into the underground subway tunnels. “I don’t know, okay? It got away! But it’s underground somewhere!”

Black Knight frowned. “You promised to bring it back to me. You’re being incredibly-“

“You’re being incredibly annoying!” the teen shouted, kicking his legs. “I’ve got nothing to do for you! I broke a deal, yeah, but it wasn’t on purpose! You have a million soldiers to find it, so why don’t you send them?”

“My assets are not unlimited, Rex, so I shouldn’t have to waste them. I wanted that EVO. And since you broke your temporary loyalty, you should be punished. You know I don’t like setbacks.”

“Then punish me one to one. Using your soldiers is cheating!”

The woman’s frown deepened, then in a flash, switched to a smirk. She motioned for her workers to leave the boy and evacuate the area, then transformed one of her arms into a sword.

“It’s a shame we have to do this,” she sighed, scratching the blade across the hood of a nearby car. “I thought you were finally coming around. You know how valuable good EVOs are to me.”

“I can’t believe you’re gonna fight me over this!”

“To be completely honest, it’s not so much my desire for the silver EVO as it is my desire for you,” Black Knight admitted. “I’ve had my engineers upgrade my collars specifically against mental resistance, amongst other things, and I would love to test it out on your stubbornness. I’m tired of waiting for you to see that White Knight isn’t the answer.”

Rex stopped in his tracks.

Her confession of attempting to forcefully brainwash him was chilling, and he realized that his earlier guess had been correct. The silver EVO, while not completely useless by itself, had only been a ruse. Perhaps Black Knight had even been waiting for him to come back peacefully only to launch her soldiers at him and kidnap him. But what was even worse was the way her statement about White Knight made him even more on edge.

It was extremely unsettling to share a very strong viewpoint with the enemy.

A quick flash of violet forced him to drop his thoughts and dodge the attack, prompting him to land on the ground. Without thinking twice, he tried to create his sword- only to be struck with a familiar jolt of electricity that destroyed his attempt. He scowled at the metal ring on his leg, then glanced up at his assailant.

“Hey!” he yelled, “Not fair!”

“Oh, but don’t you remember what you said?” the woman sneered, replacing her sword with a glowing whip. “Backstabbing is my “thing”.”

The teen pulled himself back into his feet and made a fake attempt to punch her in the stomach, waited for her to block it, then landed a harsh blow at her jaw. Watching as she stumbled backwards, he took the moment to rip off the cloth from his pants that the ring was attached to- he didn’t dare touch it with his bare hands- and formed a sword that rivaled hers. 

“Mm, you’re going to be such a good soldier...” Black Knight murmured darkly, droplets of blood leaking from her lips. 

The two swung their weapons at each other, lashing out with the shared intensity of their hatred towards each other’s resistance. Sparks flew as metal crashed against metal, and from time to time, they continued regenerating their builds to keep up the pace.

But enough was enough.

As they fought, the boy gradually forced her into the direction of the subway tunnels where the silver EVO had entered into earlier. He wasn’t planning on killing her, as he didn’t quite have the mental energy to take another life, but corralling her into that direction gave him enough leeway to finish the battle.

Black Knight, however, caught onto his plan sooner than he expected.

“Are you trying to lead me towards something?” she asked, swiping at him with another flash of her blade. 

Rex dodged the hit and used his SmackHands to grab her body between his palms, give her a quick shake, then threw her near the tunnel entrance. “I might be giving you exactly what you’re asking for.”

“I know where the tunnels are as well, Rex,” the woman shot back, quickly standing up again. “If that’s where it escaped to, I’m getting a two for one bargain today.”

“You’re getting nada.”

The teen unleashed his slam canon and shot a giant chunk of concrete square at her lithe body, instantly knocking her out cold. He then picked her up with another SmackHand and threw her into the hole in the street just a few feet away from where she had stood, then sealed the entrance with another chunk of rock.

But Rex knew she’d be back.


	8. Chapter 8

Black Knight woke up slowly, finding herself lying on top of filthy concrete. Facedown on the unclean pavement, she resembled human roadkill, as if an subway had run over her body when she wasn’t conscious. She murmured a curse at a small headache that began to pulsate around her skull, then sat up, resting on her knees. Her pitch black surroundings prevented her from finding a way out of the embarrassing situation, and she soon recalled the fight that had landed her in it.

Rex must have blocked her exit.

Standing up, Black Knight sighed and transformed her arm into a large sword, using its glow as decent illumination. Lavender beams spread across the floor and into the air, exposing the tunnels at a ten foot radius around her. Now with sufficient lighting, she began to walk across the edges of the tunnels, seeking out another exit. She didn’t quite believe she had the strength to push aside whatever blockage Rex had created- at least, not at the moment- so it was best to find an opening only obstructed by something much easier to remove.

Rex.

Black Knight pondered the boy’s usefulness, likening it to the nature of a double edged sword. It was just the world’s luck that the only true cure for EVOs was a hotheaded teenager- a teenager who had been acting strange lately, at that. The woman wanted badly for him to join her side, by force or otherwise, but there was clearly something odd about him.

Sudden spots of brown on the ground distracted the woman from her thoughts, prompting her to grimace and step away. It wasn’t unusual for rodents to relieve themselves in the tunnels, but that didn’t mean she had to step in it. She walked on, making sure her sword didn’t touch the ground, hoping to leave the site of any excrement.

But she only found more.

Black Knight wrinkled her nose in disgust and was about to whisper another curse into the darkness, but noticed something unusual about the spots. Feces wasn’t usually so flat, making her realize it wasn’t the nasty substance she thought it was. The spots were completely flat, indicating that they were actually fluids that had long dried. In fact, she reasoned, they probably weren’t urine either, due to the fact that she couldn’t smell any.

Upon closer inspection, the brown spots seemed to mainly giant drops, with tiny daughter droplets surrounding them. And the smell was something all too familiar to someone who’d fought plenty of rough battles in her life- and especially to any normal person.

Blood.

Black Knight stared at the floor, her curiosity now piqued by the unusually high amounts of the alarming liquid splattered on the pavement. She lifted her sword and followed the newfound trail, wondering if an animal had perhaps been run over by a train- she wasn’t completely sure if the rails were abandoned, after all- and had tried to run away while bleeding to death. If so, it must have entered through a nearby opening, indicating the possibility of a nearby escape route.

But her eyes flashed violet when they landed upon the real cause.

Black Knight’s breath hitched for a moment as she spotted a very familiar white suit lying against the wall about seven feet from her. The largest stains of blood surrounded it, and bits and pieces of metal lied scattered about the small vicinity, indicating a clear struggle of some sort. Despite the fact that the suit seemed completely torn in half and shredded further, she still recognized it as her pale enemy’s defense against nanites.

But where could White Knight have gone?

“Is this a trick?” Black Knight asked, her voice reverberating into the tunnels. “That couldn’t possibly be your suit. Where are you? I’m not fooled for one second.”

But no answer came.

“I’m fully prepared for whatever attack you’re going to launch, White Knight,” she tried again, transforming her free hand into a sharp whip. “This is one of the strangest things you’ve done, I’ll admit, but you’re not catching me off guard.”

She heard nothing but the cold wind above.

The woman took a deep breath, and without retracting her weapons, stepped closer to the suit. Her heels hit soft areas, making her realize she’d stepped in bits and pieces of something fleshy. The suit itself seemed like it had been spit out by an unmerciful hurricane, the center torn apart and the rest highly damaged. It rivaled her size by a foot or two, but because it was empty, it hardly seemed like a threat.

“What happened?” Black Knight murmured, kneeling down to further inspect the damage. The strangest part, of course, was that the grouchy man inside was missing- a sight she thought she’d never see unless the world ended- and it sent chills down her spine. This was wrong. Something had gone very bad.

But she didn’t quite know what.

“Systems reboot failed,” a robotic voice suddenly spoke, making her jolt. “Ninety percent compromised. Irreversible dama-“

The automated voice died out, sprang back to life, then died out again. It did this three more times before Black Knight smashed its speaker with her sword, demolishing the programming immediately. She frowned, disappointed with herself for letting a robotic glitch make her feel so unsettled. But it also raised curious questions about the cause of the suit’s disarray, and what had happened to the man normally inside it.

“What ruined you?” Black Knight asked, speaking as if the suit could talk. She retracted her whip and ran a free hand across the jagged metal, then across the smashed helmet that lay cracked on the side. “Why would be leave his suit?”

As she ran her eyes and hands across the white armor, she came up with several possible theories in her mind. A few had to do with an EVO attack, an unlikely one focused on a possible emergency escape plan, but one stuck out in her mind the most. It was the possibility that the suit had somehow been penetrated too subtly for the automated voice to notice, and had let enough nanites to leak in to turn her enemy EVO.

Her eyes landed on a small, smooth screen on the chest plate, forcing her to push her stray thoughts away. She reached down and tapped it with her fingertips, coming to the conclusion that it must have been some sort of built in camera. Pushing into the part of the suit underneath, she used her hand and sword to pry the rest of the visual recording system out, storage box and all. 

She smiled at just how intact it was, knowing she just had to take it back to Providence.

It was only a matter of time before she could find a new exit.

 

Cesar stared at the woman in black, then glanced back at the camera system on the table. “You want me to hack into what?”

Black Knight gave him a stern look, pushing the machinery closer to him. “It was found in White Knight’s suit, and I had the pawns extract the rest of his armor from the subway tunnels. We don’t know why or how it ended up there, but if you can play what was on this camera, we might be able to find out.”

“Dios mio, why would he leave his suit?” the man asked, his accent stronger due to his excitement. “It’s completely newsworthy! Are you going to sent the footage to the local-“

“We are keeping the findings- both of them- a secret until we get things settled,” the purple haired woman explained, cutting him off with a wave of her hand. “Whether this is a significant issue or not is up to whatever information we salvage from this. Do you think you can do it?”

Cesar picked up the camera system and inspected it, tracing the edges of the metal. “It looks alright, considering the damage that you described to the suit itself, and it might take some serious hacking. But I think I can make it work.”

“Good. Let me know when you’re done. I want those results ASAP.”

Cesar nodded and took the camera set back to his lab, allowing Black Knight to retire to her main office. The eager man ran into his shared lab, a bright eyed look on his face as he explained to his coworkers his assignment.

“Why would White Knight leave his suit?” Gabriel Rylander asked, intrigued by the words spouting from the Hispanic scientist’s mouth. “I thought he was extremely dependent on it.”

“Maybe it’s a fake,” Meechum guessed, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “I’ve seen him in that thing in New York. I seriously doubt he would just leave it.”

But they’d find out soon enough.


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as the recorded video from White Knight’s suit finished, the entire group of scientists- as well as their leader- stared at the screen, their eyes wide with shock.

They found it impossible to speak for the next few minutes.

After a while, Cesar hesitantly turned the salvaged footage off, then turned back to his peers. “Safe to say... none of us were... expecting that.”

Black Knight coughed, finding it difficult to comprehend what she’d just watched. “I’m... I can understand where that came from, but... I don’t even-“

“I don’t even know what we just saw either,” Meechum finished for her, just as stunned. “I mean, we all do, but that was just... unheard of. Even Van Kleiss is caught off guard, and he’s not even all there.”

The pessimist’s words rang true. The former king of EVOs remained silent, but they could all see the bafflement in his expression that matched their own.

Gabriel turned to his boss. “What are we going to do about this? We have solid proof he’s dead. And Rex... what’s become of him?”

Cesar glanced back at the screen, rewinding the video to pause at the sight of his younger brother’s angry face. “Something must have affected him badly. We all know White Knight has a few issues. He might have... broken Rex.”

“Broken, broken, Breach’s shiny token,” Van Kleiss murmured. “But a token of justice.”

“Color me unsurprised,” Peter remarked, wincing at the recording. “From what I’ve seen, the man’s just as stubborn as Rex is. Even almost used nuclear warfare the Big Apple. I say there probably was some justice done.”

“It’s still highly erratic behavior,” Black Knight pointed out, “But debatable justice aside, Rex’s little offshoot group is without a leader. Do you think they know?”

Cesar shrugged, then shut the screen off. “Rex obviously knows, but... I doubt he’d tell the others. He knows there would be consequences, and there’s no safe way to reveal what he did.”

“Real eyes realize real lies,” the gauntlet clad scientist rambled, his eyes still on the screen. “Prisoners don’t see light.”

“He’s right,” Rylander piped up, the yellow glow of his capsule suddenly brighter. “I think Rex wouldn’t tell anyone, or else he’d be captured and locked up indefinitely. Everyone would see him as a menace.”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Meechum interjected, waving his hand at the camera set. “He’s dangerous. Who knows how long he’d been planning that?”

“That’s a bit harsh,” Cesar said quietly, though just loud enough for his peers to hear. “I don’t want people to see mijo as a monster.”

Peter glanced at the older Salazar brother, a rare spark of regret forming in his eyes. “I didn’t mean he was, but.. I just meant that he’s clearly done something most would see as ruthless. We saw what he did, Cesar. There’s no denying facts.”

“Still, we both know that White Knight isn’t exactly the epitome of kindness either. I say the man pushed him to it.”

“There might be a way to prevent authorities from taking him away from the world,” Black Knight spoke up, silencing the two. “In fact, he’ll be much closer to you, Cesar. Wouldn’t you want that?”

Cesar nodded. “Sí. But how do you plan on making that happen?”

The woman in black grinned. “Follow my lead.”

 

Rex sighed and flopped onto a chair against the wall, giving his aching legs a rest. Holiday sat on the other side of the Base’s control room, having completely forgotten about her earlier EVO samples as she fiddled with various communication lines and trackers.

“You should relax,” he urged the doctor, observing anxiety in her normally bright eyes. “I mean, c’mon. I’m back home safe.”

The woman sighed. “I know you are, Rex, but White Knight isn’t. This isn’t right. He should be here by now.”

“Why?” Rex questioned, keeping up his façade. “It could just be taking him longer, or maybe he’s grabbing a bite to eat.”

“His suit is too powerful to let an EVO of that level fight him for this long,” Holiday informed him, ignoring the boy’s joke. “The only way this could happen is if... his suit was compromised. But that would take nothing short of miraculously advanced hacking. Still, that’s just a theory.”

An icy cold feeling settled in the teen’s stomach. 

“How about we just watch some TV to calm down, huh?” Rex quickly suggested, grabbing a nearby remote for the giant screen above. “We can always turn it off if there’s an incoming call from Mr. Bleach.”

The boy switched on the screen, sifting through the channels to find his beloved soap opera. But the pretty face of Ms. Farrah made him pause his surfing. It wasn’t her looks, but her expression. She seemed to be quite excited for someone who normally reported daily EVO rampages. If drastic events like that had mellowed her out over the years, whatever had caused a surge of energy in her voice had to be important.

And besides, it’s not as if her news channel hasn’t entertained him before. He giggled at the memory of her reports on Agent Six. 

“Only a few hours ago, Providence has informed us of critical findings in the local abandoned subway system,” the brunette’s voice began, distracting Holiday from her search. “Here are some clips our local camera crew have managed to capture.”

Rex’s heart shot down to his stomach as the screen displayed images of White Knight’s ravaged suit lying on the floor, then being extracted through a hole and brought into the light. Holiday gasped at the shots of blood spatter littering the tunnels, dropping her work immediately.

“He’s not in his suit!” the doctor shouted, pressing a finger to her earpiece. “Six! Are you seeing this? You need to come here- wait. You’re already there?”

“Found him!” the boy called out to her, pointing at the green ninja on the screen. “He looks fine. He’s just walking around in the background.”

“We need to find out what happened to White Knight,” she insisted, staring at the news footage. “He couldn’t have gone far. There’s-“

“There’s a lot of blood,” Rex pointed out, trying to slowly begin easing the doctor into the idea of their leader’s death. “I don’t think that’s a good sign.”

“Rex, think positive,” the woman responded, watching Farrah report the details of the findings. “Those are probably from the EVO he fought. He’s got a full suit of weapons to force that sort of damage- well, he had one. But he’s resourceful.”

The teen sighed, realizing it would be difficult to break her optimism. She was simply too attached to her faith in White Knight’s reappearance.

Why couldn’t she just be happy?

“Thankfully, the leader of Providence is here to explain the significance of this event.” Diane turned to her side, pointing the microphone towards a newly arriving Black Knight. Rex shivered at the sight of the deadly purple haired EVO. “Can you please inform our audience of what we’re looking at here?”

“I believe I can,” Black Knight replied, looking right into the cameras. “My people and I have found the remains of the former leader of Providence’s suit- a suit that granted him the ability to be completely nanite free. It appears that he might have joined the rest of us in biological unpredictability.”

“So, there’s no human on Earth safe from nanites anymore?” Farrah probed, standing a little too close for comfort.

“It seems so.”

“What do you believe happened to him?”

The woman in black took in a deep breath, then suddenly gave the cameras a very strange smile. Rex’s breath hitched as he tried to recall if he’d accidentally revealed anything to her during their battle. The woman’s expression unnerved him, making him almost believe that she knew something he didn’t.

Did she? 

Or perhaps that was his paranoia talking.

“We are currently theorizing the man’s whereabouts,” Black Knight informed the audience, “But at this stage, we are still unsure of the truth. However, we do know of someone who might be able to assist us.”

The boy’s skin crawled. 

“I know how you feel,” Holiday spoke up, placing a hand on Rex’s shoulder after spotting his distress. “That smile isn’t normal. I think she’s hiding something.”

The teen glanced up quickly. “Like what?”

“I think... she might have something to do with White Knight’s disappearance.”

“How are you going to find this person?” Diane asked, drawing the their attention back to the screen. “Are they an esteemed forensic scientist?”

“Hmm, I wouldn’t go into forensics,” Black Knight denied, quickly glancing back at the woman. “We aren’t sure if this is a crime. But the young man in question- he knows exactly who he is- is of interest to us. We would like to inform him of the private details of this case so that he may help us tie loose ends together.”

“It’s me,” Rex mumbled, leaning forward in his seat.

“What if this anonymous individual doesn’t reveal himself to you?” Farrah asked. Black Knight shrugged.

“Oh, I doubt that. If he ever wants to see Providence’s former leader again, it’s enough of an incentive.”

Holiday shut the TV off immediately, her mind reeling from the onslaught of information.

“Rex, it’s obvious,” the doctor began, pulling up a chair. “They’ve captured him, and they want you to do something for them in return for his release. I didn’t even think she could kidnap him. But it certainly explains why he didn’t come back.”

Rex’s paranoia, as strong as it was only moments earlier, was now replaced with confusion. The truth of the matter was that White Knight had long died, but oddly enough, his dark counterpart had worded her statement to seem like he was still alive- captured, even. He didn’t blame Holiday for coming up with those guesses. Even though he knew he was expected to respond by meeting up with her, something wasn’t adding up.

The teen scoffed, and shook his head. The most likely explanation was that Black Knight was only pretending she knew where White Knight was, and was hoping that he, Six, and Holiday would be desperate enough to try and regain their leader. Clearly, the woman was only bluffing.

Suddenly, Cesar’s face flashed onto the screen, interrupting his thoughts and startling the doctor next to him. His older brother’s face was unusually serious, prompting Rex to shift uncomfortably under the stare.

“Come to us, mijo,” the man began, an unusual look in his eyes. “We... need to talk.”

The screen went black.


End file.
